The key issue was that the conditions for advancing to an Intermediate Secret Technique, when compared one by one, were completely met by him!
"Requires 2 Golden Skill Points?"
Seeing that it took 2 Golden Skill Points to advance to an Intermediate Secret Technique, Rein's brow furrowed slightly.
He remembered clearly before, when enhancing the Hammer Skill's 'Shockwave' to an Intermediate Secret Technique, it only required 1 Golden Skill Point, but now 'Roaring Battle Cry' needed 2.
"Could it be that there is a difference between self-realization and point-based breakthrough?"
"Or do different secret techniques require different amounts of Golden Skill Points to advance?"
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Rein.
"Could it be related to weapon proficiency?"
"Because my hammer proficiency is at level 3, while sword proficiency, if counted by the Weapon Master's exclusive talent 'Basic Weapon Mastery,' is only at level 1, could this be the reason?"
"But the current sample size is too small to determine."
"2 Golden Skill Points, and I happen to have them..."
Should he save his Golden Skill Points to enhance the Hammer Skill's 'Shockwave' to an Advanced Secret Skill?
Rein slightly shook his head.
In the tunnel hall, those Blood Curse Nagas were walking 'Golden Skill Points.'
The female Blood Curse Nagas clearly looked much more troublesome to deal with than the males.
At this time, to hoard Golden Skill Points would be foolish...
With a powerful enemy before him, the natural course of action was to improve his strength wherever possible.
So, as Rein invested another 2 Golden Skill Points.
In an instant, a torrent of training memories about the sound-wave-based Intermediate Secret Technique 'Roaring Battle Cry' flooded into Rein's mind.
In these memories, it was as if another Rein was in a mystical space, roaring within the vast forest, the boundless sea, the extensive desert, and even from the summit of mountain ranges...
Once Rein regained his senses, he noticed a system prompt that had quietly appeared:
[Congratulations, you have comprehended the sound-wave-based Intermediate Secret Technique: Roaring Battle Cry!]
Intermediate Secret Technique!
Rein was quite delighted in his heart!
At the same time, the icon for 'Roaring Battle Cry,' now advanced to an Intermediate Secret Technique, had undergone subtle changes.
The arcs emanating from the mouth of the brawny man in the icon became denser and thicker, seemingly indicating that the power of the sound waves had grown stronger!
In the bottom right of the icon, the small text had also changed:
Roaring Battle Cry (Intermediate Secret Technique) Effect: Use a special technique combining primal force and vocal cords to let out a roar with a powerful sound wave, attacking and stunning surrounding enemies.
(Note: The power of Roaring Battle Cry diminishes with distance and is directly proportional to the user's Constitution.)
(Note: As Roaring Battle Cry is a secret technique, it cannot be enhanced through Skill Points.)
(To elevate Roaring Battle Cry to an Advanced Secret Skill, the following conditions must be met: one, Bear King Breathing Technique lv16 or higher; two, Constitution of 35 points or higher; three, spend 3 Golden Skill Points.)
"To elevate to an Advanced Secret Skill requires 3 Golden Skill Points?"
"Indeed, it is different from the conditions for advancing 'Shockwave'..."
At this moment, Rein's feelings were like going hunting hoping for a bow, but accidentally getting a gun, and upon closer inspection, discovering that the gun was actually a freaking six-barrel Gatling!
Now, Rein's Golden Skill Points were exhausted, leaving him with 2 regular Skill Points.
Without much thought, the Tokkal Hammer Technique was his most powerful means of attack at the moment, and it was also needed for subsequent advancement to Advanced Secret Skills.
Immediately, Rein started adding points consecutively to Hammer Skill.
With the first point invested, no problem, a vast amount of Tokkal Hammer Technique training memories surged into Rein's mind.
However, when he invested the second Skill Point, his expression turned to one of surprise.
The system prompt read as follows:
[Ding! Point addition failed!]
[Your Tokkal Hammer Technique has reached level lv15. To continue enhancing, you must use Golden Skill Points!]
"Regular Skill Points can only raise a skill to lv15, at least that's the case with Hammer Skill."
"And I've discovered the second use for Golden Skill Points, they are meant for enhancing skills beyond lv15."
"In that case, the last Skill Point should be put on Bear King Breathing Technique..." Rein quickly made his decision.
As the Bear King Breathing Technique also advanced to lv15, Rein distinctly felt a slight increase in both the generation speed of primal force and the total amount of primal force within his body.
The breathing technique was , with the changes to the body being gradually enhanced, not achieved overnight, but it had the advantage of daily accumulation.
Point addition complete!
Just when Rein was about to move forward, suddenly, he stopped, retracting the foot he had stepped out.
He broke off a piece of Glowstone from a nearby stone wall and threw it into the hall's half-empty space, while calling out in a deep voice:
Since everyone present was from elite squads of the Empire's various special departments, they reacted immediately to the human voice, faces showing surprise!
Knowing that someone was coming to rescue them at this time.
So, when they heard clearly Rein's instruction for them to close their eyes, most of them immediately did so.
Meanwhile, the fish-people and Nagas were still gazing at the Glowstone passing swiftly overhead, shining like a shooting star.
Even after hearing Rein's voice, they were momentarily baffled, unsure whether to observe the flying stone or to look for the source of the voice.
This made the Blood Curse Naga Leader Garnis feel both speechless and furious.